Introduction
For the remainder of this course, you will work with a topic of your own choosing. With this topic, you will:
(1) complete academic research to investigate the issue,
(2) compose a formal, academic research paper to an academic audience, and
(3) craft a blog entry to a non-academic audience.
This work will span the remainder of the course.First, though, you will propose your topic in a memo to your instructor. Since you will be working with a topic for the rest of the course, please choose a topic wisely. Choose something that you feel passionately about. Choose something you can invest yourself in. Your topic must be academic in nature (so not an argument that Coke is better than Pepsi), and it needs to be researchable. This must also be a debatable topic, so you should see at least two clear sides to the issue.Examples:
1. Immigration
2. Gun Control (Select an aspect of gun control you want to address)
3. Legalizing Marijuana
4. Homosexual Marriages
5. School Uniforms
6. Death Sentence
7. Violent Video Games
8. Social Media (Face book, Snap Chat, Twitter, Instagram, and so on)
9. Socialism
10. Dating Websites
Additionally, you should choose something you can work with in a 4-5 page argument, so do not try to tackle ALL of gun control, abortion, global warming, or social media. Those are highly complex topics that would need narrowing for this task. I encourage you to survey credible news outlets to seek ideas for relevant, debatable topics.
The Assignment Your memo will be four paragraphs:
Paragraph One: Identify your topic and why it is relevant in today’s culture. Paragraph Two: Discuss your personal connection to the topic, including any potential biases or obstacles.Paragraph Three: Discuss what information you need to gather about this topic in order to make a logical, effective argument.Paragraph Four: Identify the opposition to your argument and discuss how you might convince someone who opposes you. Resources
Memo Template Memo Template – Alternative Formats Technical Requirements for Writing in Formal English MLA Format.doc Technical Requirements for Writing in Formal English MLA Format.doc – Alternative FormatsPrint this document and use it as a checklist for all your writing assignments and discussion boards. These elements will count as part of your grade for all writing assignments and discussion boards.Acceptable LengthFour complete paragraphs; approximately one page in memo formatFormatting Requirements
Follow the Memo Template.
Use one-inch margins.
Use a 12-point Times New Roman font.
Use single line spacing in the document.
Grading Criteria Open Assignment link to view rubric
30 points: Organization (The assignment follows the prompt and each paragraph is organized with the MEAL plan.)40 points: Development (The assignment answers each prompt with evidence and analysis that shows careful academic thinking.)
15 points: Grammar (The assignment shows careful attention to an academic writing style that’s formal and polished.)15 points: Documentation (The assignment fits the standard memo format as assigned.)SafeAssign Check You will automatically submit this assignment through SafeAssign, a plagiarism detector. The overall score noted in a SafeAssign originality report is an indicator of the percentage of the submitted paper matching existing sources. This score is a warning indicator only and papers should be reviewed to see if the matches are properly attributed.
Scores below 15 percent: These papers typical include some quotes and few common phrases or blocks of text that match other documents. These papers typically do not require further analysis, as there is no evidence of plagiarism in these papers.
Scores between 15 percent and 40 percent: These papers include extensive quoted or paraphrased material or they may include plagiarism. These papers should be reviewed to determine if the matching content is properly attributed.
Scores over 40 percent: There is a very high probability that text in this paper was copied from other sources. These papers likely include quoted or paraphrased text in excess and should be reviewed for plagiarism.
To SubmitUse MS Word (or a similar word processing program) to complete your work, and save the document with a filename that includes your last name and assignment title (e.g. Jones Memo). Please avoid .odt files.
